Microwave and millimeter-wave antennas are becoming increasingly popular and pervasive. Such antennas are incorporated into a wide variety of devices for a wide variety of applications. As a result of the variety, devices that are directed at certain types of applications where size is not a significant concern, can be packaged in a modular manner that allows a user the flexibility to not only use various combination of sub-assemblies but also permits a certain level of access to various internal components of these sub-assemblies. On the other hand, other devices that are directed at applications where small size is preferable, use a highly integrated packaging approach that provides a compact unit but makes it relatively difficult to access internal components of the unit. It can be understood however, that irrespective of the packaging of these devices and their applications, it is desirable for one to have the ability to debug these devices if a problem arises in the use of these devices.
Traditional methods of carrying out such debugging operations upon devices that include a radio-frequency antenna involves a technician using a scanner or a probe to carry out signal measurements in what is known in the art as a near-field radiation region of the radio-frequency antenna. Unfortunately, near-field signal measurements tend to not only be cumbersome to execute but are also prone to providing misleading or erroneous results when carried out incorrectly. The misleading or erroneous results can occur due to various reasons such as when an inexperienced technician uses the scanner or the probe in an improper manner, say by directly touching the probe to the antenna or by orienting the probe incorrectly with respect to the antenna. In some cases, even an experienced technician can obtain misleading or erroneous results by the mere act of introducing a foreign object into the near-field radiation region. For example, in some cases, a probe, when introduced into a near-field region of an antenna can change the radiation characteristic of the antenna and provide signal measurements that do not accurately reflect signal values that would be present in the absence of the probe.